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Episode 702: Forget Me Not
Forget Me Not is the second episode of the seventh season, and the one-hundredth episode overall. Notes *This is the show's 100th episode. Synopsis Michael returns to Miami to track down someone who is trying to blow his cover; Michael is forbidden from contacting his crew. Spy Facts *There's a fine line between healthy caution, and paranoia. When you're under stress, your awareness is heightened, making it easier to spot potential dangers. Unfortunately, stress can also make it hard to tell when a danger is real, and when it's just a figment of your imagination. *When running surveillance, you're trained to view your targets not as people, but as a list of details in an activity log. When they come home, when they leave, how many calls they make. You have to discipline yourself not to get emotionally involved in the life of the subject. But sometimes the subject makes that impossible. The hardest part about doing surveillance on someone you know, is staying objective. Work can quickly become very personal when everything about the person you're watching, every look, every gesture, reminds you of the past. *The average hit-rate for a trained marksman firing at a target from 50 feet under ideal conditions is over 99%. Of course, that assumes you can see your target. If you're under fire and shooting blind, that hit rate drops to about zero. *Being an effective sniper is less about firing your weapon than it is about choosing your location. An ideal sniper perch allows you to estimate range accurately, gauge wind velocity and direction, and keep your weapon stable. The goal is to control as many variables as possible so when your target shows up, all you have to do is pull the trigger. (technically not part of the dialogue, it did appear in the close captioning code in the American broadcast of the show.) *In the field, snipers can spend hours, sometimes even days, waiting to take just one shot. But no matter how diligently you work to stay focused on the task, at some point your mind is going to wander. *Finding someone who's been abducted is a race against the clock. Each minute that passes increases the area you have to search. If you know the vehicle the kidnapper is driving, the chances of catching them rise significantly. Which is why a smart kidnapper's first move is to burn his vehicle. *When someone is put in danger as a result of an operation going bad, there are a number of questions that have to be answered. What went wrong? Is there anything you could have done differently? And of course the one question no one wants to ask, is it your fault? *An operative is trained to maintain cover under all circumstances. When the mission requires keeping your identity a secret, you're supposed to follow orders and stay out of sight. That's easy when you're spying on enemies. But it's a very different thing when you're spying on friends. When maintaining cover means allowing people you care about to walk right into a death trap, you have a choice to make: risk the operation, or risk your friends' lives. *In a hostage situation, tactical data is usually the most important. Your focus is on details like the building's entry points and blind spots, your target's potential escape routes, and your team's assault capabilities. But sometimes, even more important than your knowledge of the situation, is what you know about the person you are trying to save. Full Recap Maddy wants to go to the FBI and ask about Michael. She can't get any information on whether he's alive and she's upset. Sam doesn't want her going around asking federal agents questions. Jesse also tries to convince her that they need to catch the guy, Dexter Gamble (Nick Tarabay), who is poking around for information on Michael. Maddy says she can't sleep or eat, worried about Michael. Maddy leaves despite Sam's and Jesse's objections. Maddy heads for the federal building, paranoid that she's being followed. When the elevator in the parking garage abruptly stops and goes up to the roof, she frantically reaches for the gun in her purse. When the elevator doors open, she sees a scruffy-looking Michael, who looks her square in the eyes and says, "Hi, Mom." Michael explains to Maddy that he can't risk being seen and she asks if this is about the man who's been asking about him. He tells her she could blown his cover. Michael says he knows Sam, Jesse and Fi are worried about him, but he can't contact them. Still, he and others are "following" the trio's investigation. Maddy is stunned, but Michael insists no one can know he's there. He tells her she has to stop calling people. He says she just has to wait for him to come back. She worries that he wont come back, and he says he has to go. Maddy asks him if she can hold him, if it's "allowed." Without saying another word, the two share a hug and Maddy walks back to the elevator as Michael watches her. Michael meets with Agent Strong and reports that his mom won't be calling about him anymore. He then shows Michael an assault rifle that he'll soon be able to use. Strong shows Michael a hidden camera monitor where Sam is being watched. Michael says it could go faster if they worked directly with Sam and the others, but Strong says that cannot happen. Michael returns to watching the screens. Michael is trying not to get emotional, but is struck by watching Fi with her new boyfriend hugging and kissing him and lamenting that she has to deal with Michael's situation even though Michael's no longer around. As Michael stares at Fi on the screen, he's taken back to the past. Flashback to Dublin, 2001: In a crowded bar Fi is winning a competition with a guy to see who can put a gun together fastest. Michael watches from afar as a bartender tells him about her, adding that he "don't want any part of that." Besides, the bartender tells him, "She's taken." Back in present day Miami: Fi gets a call from a contact who has info on Dexter Gamble, who might be at an auto shop. Fi, Sam, Jesse and Fi's new boyfriend Carlos show up quickly since Fi was driving. A shootout ensues and Michael can only watch from a nearby surveillance van, his friends not even knowing he's there. Strong allows him to go in as long as no one sees him. Sam and Company are uncharacteristically running out of ammunition and unsure what to do next as Michael gets in position to help out. Sam starts to shoot blind as Michael fires one purposeful shot that takes out the guy who was shooting at the group. Silence ensues as Sam figures he made a "lucky shot." Fi says nothing, but looks backward and walks a bit toward the car where Michael was hiding. She doesn't see him but seems to sense his presence. Michael lays in the back seat of the car, trying to stay hidden. Michael listens to his friends' conversation as they try to figure out what happened. They're trying to hack a laptop that Gamble has been using to run his communication through. Fi is upset that she's "still dealing with the fallout of Michael Westen." Dixon, Sam's hacker, shows up to help. Sam hands him $300 to help out. Dixon doesn't want to get involved and risk violating his probation by hacking into the phone system. Jesse and Sam inform him that he's at a crime scene and Jesse shakes Dixon's hand to put some gun-powder residue on them. Strong feigns shock but seems rather impressed at the group's actions of "blackmailing a criminal to commit federal crime on American soil." Dixon gets to work and gives them an address. Michael and Strong move their van over to the address so Michael can take a shot before his friends get there. Michael runs out to a nearby roof and takes position. Strong says he wants Gamble dead before Sam and Company get to him. Michael watches while his friends get in position as well, hearing their communication through bugs that have been planted and seeing them through his scope. While he waits for a shot at Gamble, who isn't home, his mind wanders again. Back in Dublin, 2001: Michael walks up to Fi and asks for a dance. They dance and Michael in a thick Irish accent tells her his name is Michael McBride. Back in Miami: Michael's daydream is interrupted by Strong noting that the wind has changed. Michael says he's made the adjustment for his shot. Fi, meanwhile, goes to get rid of a gardener who is about to start work on the house next door. She approaches the man from behind -- out of sight of Michael -- and it's Dexter Gamble, who quickly turns and knocks her out with a chloroform rag. Sam radios Fi to see what happened with the gardener and when there's no response, they all run. Michael wonders what's going on. Carlos, Jesse and Sam get to where Fi was and find only the rag, which Gamble had tossed on the ground. Michael hears Carlos say, "He got her. The son of a bitch took Fiona." Gamble has burned the truck. Michael is upset with Strong for not having let him help his friends. He pushes Strong against a police car and yells at him, saying he shouldn't have listened to Strong. Strong says the best thing Michael can do to help Fiona is to finish the job. Michael wonders if it was his fault, and flashes back to his first kiss with Fi after she planted a bomb under someone's car. Fi starts to regain consciousness as Gamble watches her. She's tied to a chair in an empty warehouse. He shows a straight razor and says he wants to know about Michael. She says she doesn't know where he is and Gamble slaps her. Fi tells Gamble that Maddy was "confused" when she told Gamble that Michael was still working for the CIA. He asks, then, why the man who hired him was killed 10 minutes after he told him Michael was working for the CIA. Gamble says he's looking to trade his silence about Michael's situation for the best deal he can get. Fi starts to cry and says she doesn't know where he is. Gamble pulls her hair and threatens to kill her. Sam and crew are looking for clues when Sam gets a call from Fi's phone. Gamble tells Sam that Fi is "still breathing, for now." Gamble tells Sam he's been told Sam can get him in touch with Michael. He threatens Fi's life. Sam says he can get a secure line with Michael on a satellite phone they use for emergencies. Gamble wants to meet in one hour at an old Marine warehouse. He wants Sam to come alone and unarmed. He warns Sam not to try anything and that he'll kill Fiona if he sees anything he doesn't like. Strong, hearing all this, asks for an overhead view of the location. Michael has heard this, too. Carlos and Jesse give Sam a hard time over his promise of a phone call with Michael, but Sam insists it was the only chance to get close to Gamble. Sam gets a photo from Gamble of Fi, making good on Sam's request for "proof of life." Strong asks for the special response team to mobilize and wants to talk with its commander. Michael is upset that Strong is planning to use his friends as bait. Michael says there's no way to go in unseen. Strong says they'll do what they can to keep his friends safe. Strong starts to talk to his team and explains the situation, then turns to have Michael give them more information but Michael is gone. Michael is driving an unmarked car wildly through the streets while Strong yells at him over the radio. Michael makes a sharp turn to stop Sam, Jesse and Carlos' car and shocks them when he emerges. He says he had to stop them and says the plan is too risky for them and Fi. He explains that he and the CIA have "been watching." Incensed that Michael was there when Fi was taken and did nothing, Carlos steps up and punches Michael in the face while Strong shows up and yells at him. Sam starts to yell at Michael, too. Strong tells Michael that he's going to bury him if the operation is blown. Michael says he can fix it, but Strong says the operation is already underway and that his team is going to enter through the south wall of the building where Gamble is hiding. Michael says it's too dangerous and Fiona will be killed, insisting one last time that he has a plan that will ensure that the only person who will die is Gamble. The special response team gets ready to as Carlos, Sam, Jesse and Michael prepare alongside them. In voiceover Michael says all those practical details are important but sometimes what's more important "is what you know about the person you're trying to save." Back in Dublin, 2001: Michael puts a bulletproof vest on Fi and says he doesn't like the idea of people shooting at her. She tells him she doesn't worry, "not since I was a little girl." Back in Miami: We see Fi sitting in her seat as Gamble paces. Gamble's phone rings and he's shocked to hear it's Michael Westen talking to him. He goes to a crack between some boards on the side of the building and sees Michael get out of a large SUV. Michael strolls around, wearing a bulletproof vest, telling Gamble that he "made a special visit" to Miami just for him. Gamble tells Michael to stop and take off his vest. Michael does this and also shows that he's not wired. Gamble makes his demands for $1 million split into five different currencies, a fueled-up jet and a clear flight path out of Miami. Michael says he can get all of it but must speak to Fiona first. When Gamble refuses, Michael says, "No deal." As Michael walks away, he remembers Fi telling him back in Dublin in 2001 that when she was younger, she watched her father get beaten and shot at while protecting his family and their beliefs. He never showed he was afraid and always said there was a difference between livin' and livin' free." Michael keeps walking and Gamble finally relents, saying he can talk to Fi. Michael stops and walks back. As he walks, he remembers Fi telling him another thing her father would say when he knew trouble was coming. He'd say, "Fiona, time to be brave, little angel." Gamble tells Michael he's got "10 seconds of quality time" to talk to Fi. Michael says into the phone, "Fi" He then remembers that Fi explained those words her father said were "probably code for, 'get down on the floor, close your eyes and start praying 'til it's over.'" Michael continues into the phone, saying, "I'm going to get you home. And, Fiona, it's time to be brave, little angel." He says this in that old Irish accent he was using in 2001. Fiona slowly raises her head after hearing this. The next few seconds run in super-slow motion as four windows of the building behind Michael crash open and four snipers emerge. Fiona knocks her chair to the floor and Michael, too, drops straight down, as the shooters begin to fire. They send dozens, if not hundreds, of shots into the warehouse and Gamble is hit by many of them. He falls to the ground. Fi emerges from the building unscathed and Michael smiles as he approaches. But it's Carlos, who was walking up behind Michael, who gets the hugs, kisses and smiles from Fi as Michael can only watch. Strong comes out and calls Michael the "man of the hour," and tells him they must down get back down the D.R. and finish the operation. Michael sits helplessly as Sam asks him about all the places that the CIA wiretapped. Jesse tells Michael to just pick up the phone and skip the bugs the next time he's in town. Michael insists he's sorry and Sam says they're just glad to see he's OK. Sam tells Michael to let them know if he needs a hand. Sam asks Michael if he's going to talk to Fi and Michael walks away without saying anything. Michael does walk up to Fi, who's treated for a scrape on her arm. She was cut by some glass from the windows. She says, "You remembered my story." "I'd never forget it," he says. Michael steps closer and she steps to him, touches one cheek and kisses the other, saying, "Take care." Michael flashes back one last time to Ireland, when the bartender told him that Fi was "taken." Michael watched her approach the guy she'd supposedly been with, and she touched one cheek and kissed the other. "You see that?" Michael had told the bartender. "That's the kiss you give when it's over." Back in Miami, Michael watches Fi walk away... perhaps for the last time? Cast *Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen *Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne *Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe *Coby Bell as Jesse Porter *Sharon Gless as Madeline Westen *David Fickas as Jack Dixon Continuity Errors • The song playing on the radio in the flashback scene where Fiona sets the car on fire is Orders by The Shillaly Brothers from the album Too Drunk To Fight. The album was only released in 2010, years after Michael was already burned. Category:Season 7